Lourdes was within three of eighth-ranked Shawnee State late in the third quarter on Saturday afternoon, but was unable to get any closer down the stretch, falling to Shawnee State 75-61 inside of Waller Gymnasium in Portsmouth, Ohio.
 
"We battled throughout the game," head coach John Kenger said after the game.  "The team showed such grit taking the game one possession at a time.  Our goal was to keep them to 60 or fewer possessions and I think they had 63.  We also wanted to keep them to seven or fewer threes and they had six.  We bought into the game plan well but just had a couple of lapses down the stretch.  We will learn from those and keep growing."
 
Shawnee State seized control of the game early, finishing the opening quarter on a 10-2 run to lead by 12, 25-13, after the first 10 minutes.  The Bears pushed the lead to as many as 19 in the second period before leading 45-29 at the break.  Lourdes committed 20 first half turnovers which offset 52.3% shooting from the floor before halftime.
 
The Bears lead grew to 21, 50-29, just over two minutes into the third before Lourdes rallied.  A 16-9 run over the next four minutes pulled the Gray Wolves within five following a three-pointer by Sara Semler (Toledo, Ohio/Whitmer H.S.).  A triple by Addie Conroy (Cleveland, Ohio/Padua Franciscan H.S.) at the 2:33 mark made it a three-point game, 51-48.
 
The hosts responded with the next eight points and eventually led by seven, 59-52, heading into the fourth quarter.  Lourdes trailed by just five, 59-54, with just over seven minutes to play, but could not get any closer as the Bears pulled away down the stretch.  The Gray Wolves shot just 18.8% (3-of-16) in the final period from the floor.
 
Mary Liedel (Erie, Mich./Mason H.S.) led Lourdes with 13 points on 5-of-8 shooting from the floor while Semler added 12 more to go along with four assists.  Shae Pedroza (Napoleon, Ohio/Napoleon H.S.) chipped in 10 points.
 
Lourdes finished the game shooting 39.3% from the field but made 10-of-24 (41.7%) from three-point range.  The Gray Wolves also forced 18 turnovers from the Bears.
 
Natalie Zuchowski led Shawnee State (2-0) with 16 points off the bench while Anyia Pride added 14 more as the Bears had five players finish in double figures.
 
Lourdes (1-1) will remain on the road Tuesday evening as the Gray Wolves travel to Circleville, Ohio to face Ohio Christian.  Tip-off is set for 5 p.m. inside the Maxwell Center.